Time Travel
by OracleDru
Summary: Sam asks Jack to help her correct the past. Spoilers for Heroes. SamJanet pairing. femslash
1. Chapter 1

"Please, Jack," she asked simply, her crystal blue eyes filling with tears as they watched him from across the room.

He sighed, hoping she wouldn't start to cry. He hated when women cried; it was his deepest weakness, and she had to know it by now. They had been working together for eight years, and there had definitely been plenty of tears shed in that time, especially the year before. He had held her when it happened, after the funeral, and God only knew how many times after that, but she had never asked for anything more from him – until now.

"Hammond'll kill me," he replied weakly, already knowing he would submit sooner or later.

She took a step closer, a single tear dripping out of the corner of her eye and falling unnoticed to his carpeted floor. "He's not in charge anymore, Jack. You are," she implored, purposefully using his name again, asking for his help as a friend and not her superior officer.

He knew why she had come to him, despite the fact he was the only one they knew capable of doing what she asked. She knew he couldn't say no to her, his closest friend and confidant, one of the few people in the universe he trusted without reservation. And he loved her, he truly did, even if it was just a friendly love, which was good for him, for her heart had been otherwise entangled for some time now.

Against his better judgment, he moved closer and shook his head. He knew her tactics, how she ticked, and yet he still caved under the intense pressure of her gaze. She had come to his house, where there were no security cameras and no one to suspect, and she definitely knew what she requested was completely against regulations. Hell, she must have written half of the regulation book she recited it so well. But what she asked went well beyond anything else, including those rules she held so dear.

Taking a deep breath, he held out his arms to her and whispered, "Come here." She fell into his arms and released the sobs she had been holding back.

"Please, Jack," she repeated, this time from the comfort of his arms.

He sighed again and nodded. "Okay, okay," he replied finally. "I'll help you." He smiled and looked down at her, grateful that the tears were beginning to dry up, slowly being replaced by a look of utter hopefulness. "And hey, if we get caught, we can just go back in time and prevent that, too."

She laughed a little in his embrace and nodded, but her thoughts were completely elsewhere, on the mission he had just agreed to.


	2. Chapter 2

He leaned back in the ancient chair, musing to himself how comfortable it was at its age. He chuckled at the thought, lately feeling more old and worn out, but sitting in a chair thousands of years old made him reconsider how old he felt. He sighed and checked his watch again. It was never a good sign when Carter was late. She was usually annoyingly punctual, early even, especially compared to his lackadaisical self. Becoming general didn't do much for his motivation, although sitting in the big chair did have its perks.

One more flick of the wrist. Ten minutes late. Maybe she had changed her mind and decided she couldn't go through with their "mission" after all. That would be a relief, he thought to himself. As willing as he was to do this to see her happy again, it was a huge breach of protocols, and he was shocked she was willing to mess with the timeline at all, even though her reason was a good one.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned, greeted with the sight of his second-in-command dressed in forest fatigues. His eyebrows raised as his eyes flicked to his wrist again. She nodded. "Sorry, sir, Daniel stopped me in the hall and wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to get away until now."

"I've told you to feign non-interest, Carter. He'd leave you alone then," Jack replied, swiveling in his chair, back to the controls.

"Is that what you do, sir?" she asked, settling into the passenger seat while the ramp closed behind them.

He grinned wickedly and shook his head no. "I don't have to fake it," he replied, his gaze switching to her face momentarily as it became apparent to her what he meant. She grinned back and shook her head. "So," Jack said, panels beginning to light up around them. "You sure you want to do this? It's not too late to scrap this mission."

She shook her head and dialed the Stargate, watching as it flared to life before them. "Not on your life," she replied resolutely, and he recognized the determined look that had fallen over her face.

"O-kay," he replied, drawing out the word for longer than he necessarily had to, his own uncertainty noticeable to the woman who knew him well. "Let's do this then," he said and then flew the ship into the open wormhole, leaving the SGC they knew behind, not knowing to which one they would return.

He watched her closely as she leaned against a tree, her vision on an event that had been immortalized on film just the year before. The diligent doctor rushing to help another wounded soldier, only both Jack and Sam recalled how it ended. There would be a staff blast and the woman held dear to many hearts would fall to the ground, breathing no more. Actually, Jack noticed, it was getting to be that time and the woman against the tree hadn't moved at all, not even to raise her weapon.

"Uh, Carter. . ." Jack started, wondering if his second in command had lost her nerve after all.

"Not yet," she replied, taking a deep breath. "If I interfere with her death, I'll create an alternate timeline, one in which we won't belong."

He groaned. Not understanding half of the things that came out of her mouth was normal and partially the reason they hadn't discussed her plan to save the woman she loved. But now he was wishing he knew what the hell was going on. If they didn't prevent the staff blast from killing the woman, what were they here to do?

Suddenly a thought struck him. "Where are we going to find a sarcophagus?"

Even not seeing her face, he instinctively could feel her smile. She shook her head and finally brought her P90 to the ready position. "I have it all worked out, sir. You don't have to worry about a thing except getting us there."

They watched the scene unfold in silence, neither one feeling the need to talk any further. Finally Sam pressed the trigger, shooting down the Jaffa who had just killed her lover, and ran out from their hiding spot toward the group of SGC personnel who were still staring in shock at their fallen comrade. Jack groaned, but didn't follow her, having been advised by Sam earlier to stay out of sight. This was apparently very important since in this battle he had taken a severe blow to the chest and was being treated back at the SGC. He could not be seen, something that irked him, but he accepted it none the less.

He watched as Sam and Daniel talked briefly before she gathered up Janet's body in her arms. She then turned and began walking back toward Jack, who ducked behind the tree for cover. Still, she hadn't seemed to get any resistance from the archeologist.

When she rounded the tree, she stood there looking at him and blinked away hot tears. He knew this would happen, but that didn't stop him from wanting to rectify the situation. Reacting quickly, he reached over and took her lover's prone form, marveling that she let him take her. He then motioned his head in the direction of the ship.

Stepping inside the cloaked vessel, Jack carefully placed the doctor on the pillowed bench in the back and made his way to the front. Sam squatted down next to Janet and leaned over, brushing away a few stray hairs from the brunette's face. "Soon, love," she whispered, her tears beginning to fall.

Taking off, Jack knew there would be time ask questions later, but for now he got out of there as quickly as possible. He headed up and out into space, knowing Sam would direct him where to go when she was able.


	3. Chapter 3

After a few minutes, Sam left the prone form of her lover and crawled into the passenger seat up front. She stripped off her fatigue jacket, leaving only the black tee underneath. Leaning back in her chair, her hands came up and covered her face as she sighed deeply.

"You okay?" Jack asked, really itching to inquire where they were headed, but knew he had to give her time.

She nodded and let her arms drop. "Yeah, this is just harder than I thought it would be." She sighed deeply. "You know I opted not to see her body before it was buried?"

He shook his head. "No, I didn't. But that makes sense. We all saw the tape. No point in seeing her like that again."

Sam nodded mutely, her gaze elsewhere, and her mind probably a million miles away – or just in the back of their craft, Jack mused to himself. Finally she turned and her vision focused on the man controlling their ship. "Where are we?"

He shrugged. "Orbiting the planet until you start giving directions," he responded casually.

"Okay," she replied, "Then let's go back to the Stargate."

He nodded, and they began their descent.

She dialed, grateful they were still cloaked as they flew over the raging battle in the forested plains below. They emerged on the other side of the Stargate to miles and miles of desert. Jack sighed, his dislike for desert-like planets not a mystery to the rest of his team.

Sam smiled a little at his reaction. "Sorry, sir. It was the easiest place to get access to a sarcophagus."

He shook his head. "Just tell me what you want me to do, Carter," he replied, knowing time was an important factor in this plan.

"We need to go to August 17, 2001."

"That's pretty exact," Jack noticed, a ghost of a smile shadowing his face. But despite his teasing, he closed his eyes and did what he was told, the ship shimmering and reappearing on the day she requested.

"It has to be exact," she replied, shooting him an exasperated look. "I planned this down to the last minute."

He raised an eyebrow and smile a little to himself. "All right then, Colonel," he began with a hint of sarcasm lacing his tone, "If you've planned this so thoroughly, would you like it to be morning, afternoon or night?"

Surprising him, she nodded and responded quickly, "Night." He had only been joking, so he turned to look at her in surprise. "What?" she asked, her gaze meeting his. "It's important that SG1 be in the ziggurat at the time, but not out in front still. The past "us" cannot see us on this mission or we'll change the past more than we mean to."

He shook his head back and forth and held up a hand. "Only the necessary details, please. You're making my head spin."

This was rewarded with a full wattage grin, one he didn't see that often anymore. Maybe that's why they were on this mission – so that she would smile like that more often. Then he thought of something. "We've been here before?" he asked. "Where are we?"

"P2X-238."

Jack noticed something in the darkness. "Is that the ziggurat you're talking about?"

She nodded, and they set down nearby. Reaching into the pack she had brought, she pulled out two desert camouflage uniform and tossed one to her superior. "Just in case someone spots us," she explained as she went into the back of the craft to change clothing.

"Why does this planet's name sound so familiar to me?" Jack called into the back once he was finished changing his clothes.

She came into view, pulling on the tan jacket and shaking her head back and forth as she did. "We were here?" she suggested with a shrug once the jacket was situated correctly.

"Was this a Russian thing we did?"

"Yes," she replied, her face clouding with confusion. "Why should that matter?"

"I hate the damn Russians," he replied with a dark expression. "Come on, let's do this quickly."

She nodded and handed him the P90 she had used in the forest to shoot her lover's killer. Then she turned and picked up the still form of the woman they still intended to save. Sam nodded at Jack, and he opened the door, leading them out.

They managed to make it to the sarcophagus without being seen, Daniel and the Russian he was partnered with too distracted by the ancient writing and the disturbing circumstances to notice them. Sam figured it would only be a matter of time, though, before they were spotted, so she quickly placed Janet's body into the device and hit the button to close it. Then she immediately ducked behind the object to so as not to be seen. Jack had stayed by the entrance to the room to keep a lookout.

At the sound of the sarcophagus closing, both Daniel and the Russian whirled toward the loud noise. Anticipating this, Jack shot his P90 down an adjacent hallway before ducking behind a pillar and watching the two inhabitants of the room running toward the gunshots, Daniel on his radio immediately.

After they left, the General O'Neill stepped out from behind the pillar and the Colonel Carter reemerged from her hiding spot; both looked rather relieved at the effectiveness of their plan. There had been a little doubt in their minds as to whether the archeologist would have really taken the bait, but he had seemed just as worried as the Russian at the sound of the gun going off.

The next part of their plan wouldn't be as easy, Sam had told her superior. It would involve removing a disoriented Janet from the sarcophagus and getting her back to the puddle jumper without being seen or heard. When they heard the sound of the device opening again, they both jumped toward it quickly.

The woman inside blinked a few times before her vision settled on a certain face gazing intently down at her. "Sam?" Janet croaked, sitting up slowly, one hand holding her head as if she were nursing a headache. "What happened? Where are we?"

Sam helped the woman she loved step out of the sarcophagus and pulled her into a tight hug. Jack looked on, nervously bouncing from one foot to the next, glancing around anxiously. "Ah, Carter . . ." he interrupted, pointing at his watch when she opened her eyes and looked at him in response.

She nodded and pulled away from Janet, her hand grabbing the shorter woman's and pulling toward the exit. "I'll explain on the way. Right now we need to get out of here."

Without any further questions, Janet followed her love and their friend, quite used to the abnormal after seven years of working at the SGC. They made it safely back to the puddle jumper, Janet's eyes wide as she took in the unknown technology. Sam giggled when Janet jumped at the sound of the door closing without anyone pressing a button.

Jack grinned and settled into his seat, basking in the success of yet another mission, even if it was a highly covert one that could cost him his career. He cracked his knuckles and turned back to the women, who were currently in each other's arms, Sam's lips having found Janet's almost immediately after they boarded the small craft. He shook his head and turned back to the controls. "Ladies, you might want to sit down. It could be a very bumpy ride," he teased and shook the jumper slightly to prove his point.

Sam shot him a dirty look, but he knew nothing he did now could possibly upset her. This thought made him smile as he took off and headed in the direction of the Stargate. They would discuss their next move later, but until then, he was perfectly content to drive and let Sam have her happy reunion.


	4. Chapter 4

As Jack set down the spacecraft, his mind was trying to focus on the landing and what he was going to tell hi s superiors rather than the two women making out in the backseat. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen Sam and Janet kiss before, but he suspected they had forgotten he was there altogether.

Clearing his throat, he swiveled in his chair, catching the attention of the two women behind him. He watched as they slowly and regretfully pulled apart, both blushing slightly. Smiling at the sight, he said as sharply as he could manage while he was feeling happy for his friends, "Ahem, Colonel Carter," putting an emphasis on her rank, "As nice as this is, I think you may want to take your girlfriend home and explain a few things to her, don't ya think?"

Sam rolled her eyes and stood up, dragging a very confused looking doctor up with her. "Yes, General," she teased back, recognizing the tone in his voice. "If you just open the door, we can be on our way to my car."

Jack shrugged. "That would be quite a walk," he replied, opening the back door as he did, revealing a very familiar house.

Flashing him a brilliant grin, Sam waved and mouthed a quick thank you as she and her girlfriend moved to exit the craft. Pausing in the doorway, she looked back at their driver and asked, "We'll talk later?"

He nodded. "Go bring her home."

As soon as Sam shut the door and turned around, she was met with the sight of her lover's arms crossed over her chest and brown eyes narrowing on the blonde's face. "Colonel Carter?" Janet asked, her tone telling Sam to keep her distance. "General O'Neill? Was I brought into some strange alternate universe or something?"

"No," Sam answered softly, taking a tentative step toward Janet. "No, you've actually been brought into the future – one year in the future."

Janet's eyebrows dipped downward. "The future? Why?"

Drawing a deep breath, the blonde wrapped her arms around her stomach and leaned against the hallway wall. "Because you died," she answered in low tones, her gaze focused on the floor.

For a minute silence filled the house as Janet processed the words she had just heard. Finally Sam could stand it no longer, so she raised her head and her vision settled on a face she loved and had missed dearly. For a second it was covered in shock but it was quickly replaced with disbelief.

"Samantha Grace Carter! Please don't tell me you deliberately changed the past to save me."

Without hesitation, blue eyes locked with brown ones as Sam replied quickly, "You would have done the same if it were me."

Janet's gaze immediately softened, and she blinked away tears. Taking a deep breath, she closed the distance between them and pulled Sam into a tight hug, her hand threading itself into the short blonde locks.

Clinging to the smaller woman as if her life depended on it, Sam felt her eyes slide closed as she breathed in a scent she had sorely missed. "Oh, god, I missed you," she whispered into Janet's hair, feeling the strands tickle her lips.

"I know," Janet nodded as she pulled the taller woman impossibly closer. "It's all right, sweetie, I'm here now." And suddenly the doctor was aware of the tears that were flowing down her lover's cheeks and onto her shoulder. She pressed her lips to Sam's temple and whispered softly, "It's okay, Sam. Just let it out."

He had dialed three times and hung up as soon as someone answered. He felt like a damned teenaged prank caller. Feeling disgusted with himself, General Jack O'Neill forced himself off his couch to get another beer.

Suddenly the phone in his hand began to ring, causing him to jump at the noise. Grumbling something to himself, he raised the cordless phone to his ear and answered with an unfriendly and somewhat rough sounding, "Hello?"

"Jack O'Neill, you had better have a good explanation for hanging up on me three times," the upset voice of General George Hammond came over the line.

Jack cringed. His superior officer only displayed anger in rare instances, but when he did, no one wanted to be in his way.

"Uh, yes, sir," Jack answered, swallowing hard. "I would like to ask your opinion on a hypothetical situation."

"Well, let's hear it so I can get back to spending the afternoon with my grandchildren," General Hammond answered, obviously upset at being interrupted at home.

"Yes, sir. Well, I was wondering if . . . well, per se, I was to take our newfound toy out for a joyride?" he asked, switching the phone from one ear to another in his nervousness.

"Did you bring it back in one piece?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then what's the problem?"

Sighing, Jack realized he had started to pace and stopped immediately, sitting back down on the sofa. "Well, um, what would you say if I, uh, brought someone back with me?"

"Who, Jack? You're trying my patience."

Jack O'Neill was oh so good at THAT. "Um, you remember Doc Frasier?"

The response was immediate. "WHAT???" Hammond bellowed across the phone line.

"Well, sir, her death was pretty senseless, and I did get her after the fact, so that the timeline wouldn't be hurt too bad."

"This plan sounds too thought out, Jack, especially if it was just a 'joyride.' Are you sure it was only you?"

"Just me, General," Jack lied through his teeth. "So what do you want me to do? I can't exactly put her back, not after I brought her back to life and all."

He could hear Hammond sigh on the other end of the phone. Finally the senior officer replied slowly, "Think of some other explanation to her presence, and we'll forget this conversation ever took place."

A small smile formed on Jack's face. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," he replied as the thought of "Carter will think of something," crossed his mind.

"Good. Now don't ever call me at home again."


End file.
